Blue Dahlia
by FestiveFerret
Summary: A struggling Daryl meets the promising singer/pianist Beth Greene and he finds in her a friend like he's never had before. A slooow-burn Bethyl that will surely be an emotional rollercoaster. AU
1. Chapter 1

**Prologue**

* * *

Welcome, fellow readers and dreamers! Before I kick off this slow burn I just wanna have a little chat with you. So come, please, have a seat and sit for a moment. Are you comfy? Good. Don't worry, I won't ask you any personal questions, but I do want to tell you a little something about me. I love music even more than I love Bethyl, and that is A LOT. Music is such an inspiring tool and my creative little brain often makes its own little music videos that play behind my eyes.

How is this relevant? Why am I keeping you from reading Bethyl goodness? Because I want you to know that this entire story is inspired by song lyrics. I will let you know what songs inspired particular moments or themes as they come along….but first I wanted to set the mood for this very chapter. You know how lots of movies start out with maybe some little snips of dialogue before rolling the title screens and some credits over dialogue-less music montage to kind of get things rolling? That's what you and I are gonna do.

If you don't mind, go to your favorite online music player and listen to "David" by Noah Gundersen. Yes not every single lyric is a perfect fit….but go on, close your eyes (...I mean, still read this though). I think I hear Daryl rumbling down a road towards Atlanta. Since your eyes are closed, I'll tell you what I see. Dappled bits of light from between yellow-leafed trees hits his truck like big, silent raindrops before they slip off in a 60 miles per hour blur. His windows are rolled down and one of his tanned arms is hanging out, tapping either to the music playing on his radio or out of nervousness, I can't quite tell. It looks like he's pulling off now, into the parking lot of some local joint. What's that expression on his face? He looks a bit distressed to me. Now open your eyes. What do you think?

 **Chapter One**

* * *

He downed another drink, hardly noticing the burn from the hard liquor as he gulped it down his throat. For about 20 minutes he had been feeling almost pleasantly drunk, but now the lights were swimming in his vision. Some voice inside him told him he was wasted. Wasted and about to be sick from too much alcohol and nerves. He slid off his stool, bumping into another person's body on his way. Daryl thought he mumbled an apology but was concentrated more on trying to make the floor stop squirming under his feet. "D-damnn..it," he slurred.

A combination of muscle memory and sheer luck got him to the dark corridor where the bathrooms were, and he leaned into the door to open it. The stillness of the yellow tinged bathroom lighting was an immediate relief from the pulsing, multi-colored lights by the stage. Cool air came floating down from a vent in the ceiling and Daryl let himself rest against the tile wall for a moment. Then he could feel it.

He rushed to push open one of the bathroom stalls, and barely had time to fall to his knees before retching in the toilet. A shudder racked his body for a moment and he thought he heard a voice. His hearing was about as clear and precise as his vision right now but the second or third time he heard that voice-like sound he knew there was another person in the bathroom noticing his drunken, sorry ass make a fool of himself.

He threw up again. But as he coughed he noticed a cool feeling around his forehead and sensed his hair being moved away from his mouth. His body shuddered in both relief and shame.

"Don't mind me, just helping out," he thought he heard. No, he knew there was a person with him.

Daryl, mustering as much control as he could, lifted his hand in search of some toilet paper so he could wipe his mouth.

"Oh, let me get that…" cooed the voice.

Pushing his hand through the air, he attempted again to do it himself. He wasn't no baby. He could wipe his own damn face. But he had to close his eyes and clench his hand into a fist while he forced his stomach to settle.

"Had a little too much to drink tonight, huh?" He opened his eyes at the sound and saw a flash of gold and blue. "Are you here with anyone?"

He grunted in a way he hoped conveyed that he wasn't.

"Hmm, okay then. Do you have anyone I can call?" The voice was a pleasant distraction, so much so that he didn't protest when he felt hands wipe at his face. Leaning against the wall of the bathroom stall, he opened his eyes again and tried his best to focus on the person in front of him.

There was blonde hair, long. A blue t-shirt, faded. The person was a girl, which made sense given the inherent tenderness her actions had shown so far. Her mouth was moving and he realized she was speaking to him again.

"Do you need anything?"

"I think...I think I spilled my dr-rink."

At this the blonde girl cracked a smile, and something about the smile clicked with him. "Yes, I think you did. Do you have a name?"

He closed his eyes for a moment, and when he opened them again he wasn't in the bathroom.

"He isn't a puppy, Beth, we can't just take him home with us."

"Well we can't leave him outside the bar!"

"Did you find his ID? We could call a cab?"

"His address is all the way in Columbus..."

Daryl rubbed his head in his hands. A quick inspection of his surroundings let him know he was still at the bar. A tired looking staff member was wiping down tables and putting the chairs on them, while another was closing up the bar area. A few customers still lingered in the bar. The blonde girl in the blue shirt was talking to a guy that looked to be about her age, which was definitely young.

Daryl cleared his throat, and both of them turned their head sharply towards him.

"Don't need nothing from you." His head hurt like hell, but it was a lot clearer than earlier. He guessed it was about 2am now, and he was probably out for two or three hours. "I've got a truck."

The guy next to the blonde girl, presumably Beth, raised his eyebrows at Daryl. "Hey man, we can't let you drive right now…"

Standing up slowly, to avoid blacking out again, Daryl ignored the kids and headed out of the bar towards his truck. He didn't plan on even leaving the parking lot, but he didn't need to explain himself to them. As he slipped out of the exit, the crisp november air hit his skin and immediately helped to refresh him. He still needed a cigarette though.

The light in his truck didn't turn on when he opened the door, reminding him that he needed to get that fixed still. But the ambient parking lot light was bright enough he could easily locate his pack in the dash. So he climbed into the truck bed and sat there, letting the cool breeze help clear his head while he smoked.

About ten minutes later he saw the guy walk out with Beth, and Daryl watched them from behind the hair that fell in front of his face. The girl was scanning the parking lot, presumably looking for him, and when she spied him her arm went out to stop the guy. She said something that he clearly wasn't fond of but she made her way determinedly towards Daryl's truck. Her friend waited there, looking exasperated.

Daryl took a long drag from his cigarette, feeling empty and tired now. The last thing he wanted to do was talk. He looked away from her, quietly hoping that she'd turn around and walk back.

He heard her footsteps crunching in the gravel as she got closer, then a pause as she got to his truck. Her small voice floated up to him the like smoke from his True Blue's. "Um, hi.." she started. "When you were passed out, I may have, uh, looked into your wallet to find out who you were and where you lived." Her voice sped up towards the end of her sentence, like she was nervous. Daryl turned his head in her direction again, and let his eyes skim across her small frame. Not in a perverted way, he was just curious. Her blonde hair fell down just past her shoulders and it was loose except for a small braid. Comparing the image of the girl in front of him to the gold and blue vision he saw in the bar, he guessed this was the same the girl that had been in the bathroom with him.

That thought prompted him to interrupt her. "How'd you get in the guy's room anyway?"

Her expression was one of surprise, as if she expected him to be upset she'd peeked into his wallet. And maybe he would have been, if she had been anybody else, but his sixth sense was telling him she was probably alright.

"I found you in the lady's bathroom…"

He scoffed at himself and shook his head before taking another drag.

She seemed to sense his discomfort, because she changed the subject back to whatever she felt uncomfortable about earlier. And Daryl noticed that. It made him think that she must be a nice girl. She was probably raised by nice parents in a nice house, and only really did nice girl things.

Her big blue eyes looked more at his truck or her shoes than him as she spoke, but she spoke less like a mouse now. "Anyways, I didn't get a chance to give it back, your wallet, in there." Her thumb jutted back towards the bar while her other hand held out his worn leather wallet. It looked about as beat up as he felt. "Here you go Mr. Dixon."

Daryl looked warily at her outstretched hand but didn't reach for his wallet. After an awkward moment passed between the two of them, she stepped forward and set it on the wall of the truck bed. "Have a good night," she said, turning around and walking back to her friend. He watched her go, back to the guy who put an arm protectively over her shoulder. She laughed at something he said, and she pushed his arm off and hopped into the driver side of a green Subaru outback. When she was nothing but two red specks of tail lights, Daryl picked up his wallet. He felt heavy and suddenly very tired and old.

Five minutes later and he had his passenger seat leaned all the way back and was sound asleep.

* * *

 **So I know this is a little short, but they've met and we have no idea what is going on yet. I promise we will figure it out together though! Please review if you liked it or if you wanna take a guess at what in the heck is being planned!**


	2. Chapter 2

Daryl sat down in a booth, newspaper in hand, and ordered a black coffee from a very prompt waitress. Despite it being almost ten in the morning, the little place had only two other patrons in it. He reckoned it was a slow day or their breakfast was shit. Eyeing the general grime of the place and the apathetic auras from the other customers, he guessed it was both. But at the very least it was food and shit food was almost always better than no food.

The waitress was back with his coffee and she looked at him expectantly for his order. "Just the uh," he glanced back to the greasy menu in his hand, "the In-A-Flash with a double order of bacon."

"Anythin' else for ya?"

"Yeah, you got a pen?"

The waitress pulled one out from the pocket of her stained apron and slapped it on the table. "Just don't take it home, it's my only backup."

 _No promises._

Daryl sagged into the uncomfortable booth seat and flipped through the local newspaper until he found the classifies. He scanned through them, his mind only partially on the task. With his borrowed pen he circled a few prospects. One in particular caught his eye and he put a star next to it before the waitress came back with his breakfast.

 _Definitely shit._ He wasn't even sure the bacon had been cooked all the way and the hashbrowns were cold all the way through. With a grimace, he at it anyway. It was better than no food. He left money on the table and got out of the greasy spoon hardly ten minutes later, not wanting to linger there.

Outside the Georgia sun was shining brightly, but since summer was ending and it was still early it was a pleasant experience, rather than a grueling one. The October air was just starting to think about getting chilly and he liked the way it felt cleaner and refreshing. Daryl slipped back into his truck and pulled out the classifieds again.

 _ASST. FARM MANAGER  
_ _Need experienced person for regular  
_ _Work on medium sized cattle farm.  
_ _Must be reliable. Live-in position  
_ _Only. Contact Otis at…_

Daryl lit a cigarette and picked up his phone. If he could kill two birds with one stone, he would.

* * *

A heavy-set guy was waiting for him when he arrived at the Green Acres farm.

"You must be Daryl," he exclaimed as he walked toward Daryl with his arm extended.

Daryl met his handshake firmly, but briefly, and nodded his head in affirmation.

"The name's Otis, but I guess you know that already since you called! Now you said on the phone you had experience at that ranch outside of Columbus? I called them up and asked about you. Other than you leaving 'em they only had good things to say about you, Mr. Dixon. And I like that."

Daryl stood there quietly, arms crossed while he listened to Otis go on and on.

"Just so you know, we are primarily involved in feedlot operations, but there will be occasions when you'll need to assist with calving. Is that gonna be a problem?"

He just shook his head. Not like he had plans or family to tend to.

"Good. You wouldn't believe how many people come out here expecting an easy nine-to-five kind of job. Ridiculous, isn't it? Well anyways, follow me. I'll give you the grand tour."

The farm looked nice, nicer than ones Daryl had worked on in the past. Probably because of how picturesque this place looked. It was like something out of a tv show of a farm, couldn't see none of the messy parts. He was sure they were there, but from the driveway it was straight out of a southern magazine. A long gravel driveway led up to a great big farm house with a wraparound porch. From here it even looked like it had a porch swing and rocking chairs. On either side of the driveway there were large pastures, at least one of them had a herd of cows that he could see. Otis was still talking, pointing towards the farmhouse and talking about the owner that lived there. He waved his hand in another direction and mentioned three other fields beyond their line of sight, one of them for the family's horses.

"This over here is our horse barn. Above it is where you'll stay if you decide to take the position." Otis turned to look at Daryl, trying not to scrutinize him too obviously. "But we don't want ya moving in just yet. We require a two-week trial period to make sure you're capable and we all get along. You know, before you move all your stuff in." Otis was trying hard to be pleasant, but Daryl could tell the man was unsure what to think of him. He couldn't blame 'em. He knew the effect that his appearance and demeanor had on most people.

"Mhm," he mumbled, in an effort to be pleasant.

Otis smiled a little and led the way through the barn and up to the loft apartment.. It was like he noticed Daryl wasn't keen on talking, and felt like he had to fill up the empty space with words and random, whistled tunes.

"The Greene's just put some new paint on the walls up here and bought some furniture from Dale's thrift shop down on Third Street. Do you know Dale? No? Well even with the furniture it isn't a lot or fancy or nothin', but Maggie did a fine job making it feel cozy, don't you think?"

Daryl looked around and thought he agreed. It was definitely better than sleeping in his truck, and unquestionably better than any of the digs he's shared with Merle in the past. It was so much nicer that it actually made him itchy with discomfort. It felt too good for him, to clean, too welcoming. Neither of those things were very Daryl-like and he couldn't really grasp living in such a nice arrangement. Thankfully Otis led him back down to the barn shortly, and was talking again.

"Now, one of the reasons we've been looking for someone is 'cause I have my own farm. Mostly its just hay and corn, but I've got animals too that need taking care of. I've been friends with Hershel, that's the owner, since I bought the land next to him almost thirty years ago, but I need to get back to my farm as soon as possible. You see, Hershel likes to do things his way, so he's always done most of the work."

 _Get on with it already._

"Well, his son just left for college and Hershel had a run in with an angry bull last week and broke his leg. The doc says its gonna be at least six months before his leg is reasonably well enough to start doing some basic farm chores. And I just can't be away from my farm and family that long! I think Patricia would skin my hide if I were. Since we don't know when he'll be all healed up and ready to go again, I can't say how long we'll need you. Hershel may decide he doesn't need much help after he's better, but he is getting on up there in age and I keep telling him to take a break… Just be aware that the situation may change come next spring."

Daryl talked, or rather, he listened to Otis talk for another ten minutes before he was able to get away without being a total prick. Then he was off, down the gravel driveway and heading towards a cheap motel for the night.

And what a motel it was. His lip curled when he walked into the room, and he slammed the door behind him. It smelled like a thousand stale smokes and lemon scented Lysol. Dingy, yellow wallpaper was peeling in some areas and stained from leaking water near the single window. He threw his duffle bag on top of a crappy wooden chair and sat on the edge of the squeaky mattress. Kicking off his boots, Daryl tossed his jacket to the chair with his bag. Then, with a noise somewhere between a sigh and a groan, he let his head fall into his hands. It was going to be a long six months. But he just needed to make some cash and then he could hole up in the woods for awhile or something.

A feeling similar to when he had been looking at the apartment came over him again. The scars on his back itched and burned, but he knew it was just in his head. For a few moments he sat there, willing the imaginary sensations to stop, but they didn't and he gave in 'cause he was a weak sonuva bitch. Rubbing them just seemed to intensify the burning though, and so he stalked to the bathroom and turned on the shower. Cold water poured out in a wide spray from the showerhead, and the pressure was surprisingly high. He stepped in and let the warm water pummel the scar tissue on his back, hoping the water would put out the fire under his skin.

Ever since Will showed up, Daryl felt like he had fallen into the twilight zone. A darker, more violent and terrifying episode of the twilight zone. Even Merle had been stunned into silence when they first noticed him at the bar. Daryl remembered the thin lipped smile that crept across their father's face as he walked towards them.

 _Neither one of you gonna talk? Ain't got nothin' to say to dear old dad?_

Merle's hand clutched the beer bottle he was holding so tightly that his knuckles turned as white at Daryl's face felt.

 _Knew that bitch wasn't fit to breed. Ya'll were born without some fuckin' manners! Hell I shoulda-_

Merle threw his bottle to the ground and leapt towards their old man, fists swinging and eyes filling with hate. Daryl was paralyzed, convinced he was looking at a ghost of a devil he once knew.

The water from the shower was running cold now, the little bit of heat it could muster gone as quickly as Daryl's long lost innocence. But it helped drag him out of his head. Nothing Daryl could do by replaying last week's events over and over again. He placed his hands on the tile wall, each of his palms centered in one of the slick squares, and let out a long, unsteady breath.

He was away.

He was away from Merle, from Will, and from his old, messed up life. He told himself that this time he was gonna live right, like decent folk should. And if that failed, he'd just go hide in the woods. He'd become that weird old guy that the local kids make up scary stories about or something.

 _Or something._

Daryl tried to focus on cleaning himself instead of all the shit that had been on his mind for the last three days. And for fifteen minutes he was able to relax and calm down without alcohol or cigarettes and it almost felt good. So good that when he stepped out of the shower, he thought he might shave his face before his first day at the farm tomorrow. Might help make him look more refined and like he cared about how he looked. He didn't, but he could pretend for a little while.

The next morning a smooth-faced Daryl left a gas station with a cup of cheap coffee and a bottle of water. He forced his mind to focus on looking for the Greene Acres sign, but he already knew where he had to turn to get to the farm.

Sure enough, just five minutes later he spotted it and flipped on his turn signal. If he thought the farm was picturesque before, he _knew_ it was now. Early morning fog filled the shallow valleys across the fields, but the sun was rising and warming the fog away to wherever it went during the daylight hours. As Daryl pulled up to the house, he noticed flowers hanging from a few windowsills, and peach colored roses were growing along the rails. _Damn place is a few bunny rabbits away from being a post card._

He also spied an old looking man with white hair and a cast on his leg. He was waving at Daryl to come over, so he did, assuming it was Hershel Greene. They made their introductions, and Hershel explained the day's usual pattern. "But Otis will stay until the end of your trial period, just to be sure we don't miss any spots in your training here." Then he glanced down at his watch. "Though Otis seems to be running a little late this morning…"

Their conversation, if you could call it one was interrupted by a voice inside the house that came floating through the large open windows. "Hey daddy, I made some tea but I don't have time to drink it," the screen porch door swung open and a petite, blonde haired girl stepped through it, a large mug in hand. "...before the bus comes." Her smile faltered a bit when she saw Daryl.

Hershel eyed her a bit curiously, but accepted the mug and tugged her a little closer towards him. His eyes twinkled as he spoke. "This is my youngest child, Beth. She's the only one still living at home with us, but she's off to Georgia State next fall to follow in her proud dad's footsteps!"

"Gonna be a vet just like you, dad," she said, looking a bit more at ease than when she first spied Daryl.

Hershel took a small moment to beam proudly at his daughter, and Daryl wondered what that felt like. He generally avoided areas where families concentrated, since mothers tended to look at him as a source of danger and trouble. And maybe he was, but he didn't like the way those moms would "inconspicuously" shield their children from him. Daryl allowed his eyes to move from Hershel to Beth just before their little moment ended. He knew she was the girl from the bar two nights ago and it looked like she remembered him too. This time her hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and she was wearing jean shorts and what looked to be a boy's zip up hoodie that was pulled over a plain white t-shirt.

"Bethy, meet Daryl. Today's his first day on the job." The glint in Hershel's eyes was still there as he joked, "You think he's gonna make it?"

"Hmm…" she gave to indication to her father that she had already met Daryl before today. He assumed that no underage girl wanted to tell their _daddy_ they were at a bar. And that they had met a man who was throwing up in the ladies' room stall. And that he was the same man he was about to possibly hire. Girl wasn't stupid, that was for sure. "I guess only time will tell," she said. "But he looks tough to me, daddy!" And with that quick remark she popped back into the house a moment before popping back out again, this time a backpack slung over one shoulder.

"Have a good day, don't work hard," she warned playfully, giving Hershel a peck on the cheek. For Daryl she simply waved, having completely gotten over her immediate surprise at seeing him at her own house. "Good luck!" Then she was off, down the steps and half jogging down their long gravel drive.

Hershel chuckled and drew Daryl's attention away from the young blonde. "She's a blessing to me, that girl… Ah, I think I see Otis over there by the barn. Why don't you go meet him? I've been ordered to rest and drink this tea by Miss Doctor. She always knows when I've disobeyed!"

Daryl didn't know what else to do but nod, so that's all he did before going off to the barn. On his way there he contemplated the girl, mostly because he was so surprised to see her. If she was going to meet a bus with a backpack, she must still be in school. That didn't really surprise him, she didn't seem old enough to be a college girl. But if she was headed there next fall then she must be a high school senior. But both times he had seen her, at the bar and on the porch, she seemed like an innocent little thing. Daryl wondered what made a daddy's girl like her go to bars and lie to their doting fathers.

"Hey there Daryl, good to see you again. I'm a little late today, so let's just get started…"

 **Thank you to all of you who have favorited, followed, and/or reviewed! I hope you are still interested and enjoy this chapter :) If you do, please let me know with a quick review, it would make me so happy!**

The song that inspired the first chapter was "Album of the Year" by The Good Life. I also hid a snippet of the lyrics in this chapter as well.


	3. Chapter 3

By the time four o'clock rolled around, it was clear to Otis that he could leave the rest of the day's chores in Daryl's capable, experienced hands. Pretty much all he had left to do was drive some have out to the two main cow fields and then start the turn out process for the horses. He reckoned he'd be done in under three hours.

Daryl finished tossing the bales of hay into the bed of his truck from un in the hay loft and then closed the large loft doors. Even though the dust from the hay, horses, dirt, and who-knows-what-else was sticking to every inch of his exposed, sweaty skin - as well as to the inside of his nose and throat - he almost felt content. The farm here was quiet, not very busy since it was a small, private business. They didn't rent out any stalls or fields, so there were no visitors that weren't family. And on a weekday during business hours, that meant it was very quiet. Just him and the animals. And Otis. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and climbed down the sturdy, wooden ladder. That ladder was a nice change. He'd been down too many badly nailed barn ladders in his time. Nothing quite like the feeling of almost breaking your spine after a hard day's work.

When he got behind the wheel of his truck, he reached for his water bottle, but it was empty. Again. He must've refilled it ten times today. The last time he did it was from a well in one of the cow fields. Otis had assured him that the water was just as pure as what the house drew from, and he was right. It was cool and refreshing and those were some damn lucky cows.

Daryl shifted the truck into park and went to open the gate to the field down by the road. The cows were nowhere near the gate, so he wasn't worried about them escaping as he left the gate wide open and pulled his truck through. As he got out of his vehicle, again, and was closing the gate behind him, he spied a blonde haired girl coming up the driveway.

It was Beth. But he was more concerned with with unloading the hay and so he drove his truck further into the field to where the old hay was. While he was tossing out the new stuff, he noticed he couldn't see her anymore. "Shouldn't even be lookin'," he reminded himself. But he caught himself keeping an eye out anyways, and that's when he saw her again. But she had hopped the fence and was holding her shoes, now walking through the little stream that ran through the field. It was a warm day for November, but the water had to be too cold for comfort. Daryl shook his head, wondering why he felt any concern for how cold her toes might be, and resolved to get out of the field as soon as possible. People weren't really his area of expertise or comfort, especially not people that were high school girls.

But it was his instinct to watch his surroundings, and he really couldn't ignore her as she proceeded to walk along the fence line, toward the gate he'd be leaving through in another minute. Daryl picked up the pace, cutting baling twine and throwing the hay with what felt like super-human speed.

"Mind if I catch a ride back to the house?"

 _Too slow, Dixon._

Daryl turned to face the girl he knew had caught up to him. Her long hair was still in a ponytail, but it was more haphazard after a day of activity. She didn't seem bothered by the loose wisps of hair though, and he watched as she nonchalantly tucked some of the pale strands behind her ear. Her blue eyes looked to his, awaiting an answer.

"Still gotta go to the next field."

She gave him a small smile, "That's okay. I'll just help out. Don't have a lot of homework anyways."

He hesitated, not really wanting to be in close quarters with the farmer's daughter. So he opened up his mouth to say he didn't need any help.

"Alright."

The word came unbidden from his lips and he mentally slapped himself. Why couldn't he be just as surly to her as he was to everyone else? _Damn blonde._

Beth's smile widened and she tossed her backpack into the bed of the truck on top of the rest of the bales. Her smile made him uncomfortable and so he ducked his head and slammed the tailgate closed. As he got into the driver's seat, he saw her carefully moving some of the junk he had on the seat.

" 'm sorry," he mumbled. An extra shirt, bandana, lighter, and yesterday's newspaper were among the things he tossed into the backseat. "Ain't normally a taxi service."

She giggled a little as she slid into the reasonably cleared off seat, but hesitated before putting her feet in. "I uhm, I kinda walked through the creek and the field without my shoes on. Am I gonna mess up the floor or anything?"

He blinked at her. Was she joking? Displaying an innocent look to confuse him so she could laugh at him secretly? He decided that was probably not true, so he replied with a less abrasive remark.

"Gonna hurt if you close the door on 'em."

Daryl turned the key in the ignition and was more focused on driving than he ever had been before. It was quiet in his truck now, since she didn't seem intent on creating radio was playing an old Eagles classic, but he noticed that it sounded different. It occurred to him then that Beth was humming along quietly, and for whatever reason that was more awkward than a conversation would have been. He gripped the wheel a little tighter as he pulled up to the gate.

"I'll get it!"

He watched her as she unlocked the big metal gate and swung it open so he could pass the truck through hoped that Hershel wouldn't mind this. The last thing he wanted was to get fired on his first day because of this girl. He waited for her to get back in, though he did contemplate driving off, and they headed to the second field where they repeated the gate procedure. He worked on thinking of a way to get a feel for how Hershel might react to him interacting with his daughter while out of sight and sound.

Beth, meanwhile, jumped into the back of the truck, pulled a pocket knife out, and began cutting the baling twine and shoving the bales towards him. She was fast and efficient, which almost made up for the fact that she was _still_ humming Life in the Fast Lane.

He finally managed to make his voice work. "You always come out and help the farmhands?"

"Only the ones I mean at bars."

His eyes searched her face, which was totally blank for a short moment before she caved and a smile broke out across her face."Just kiddin'! But yeah, I help. Though recently its been my dad and Shawn doing most of the work. And Otis, after daddy broke his leg."

Daryl grunted, thinking that Hershel probably wouldn't approve, given Beth's answer.

They finished throwing the hay and headed towards the barn. She was fingering the hem of her shirt, and he could tell that she was glancing at him every now and again. Then he heard her let out a long breath, and she turned in her seat to face him.

"Do you mind me asking what you were doing at the bar that night?"

"Did what most people do. Drink."

Her forehead wrinkled slightly, "well, duh…" Beth paused a moment, as if trying to read his facial expression, which he purposefully kept mostly hidden by his hair. "But, why? I mean, you were really, _really-"_

They reached the barn and he pullled up to it and stopped abruptly, irritated that she was so curious about that night. His voice, when he spoke, was forceful but not overly loud.

"You wanna tell your daddy you were at a bar in the first place? Huh? Show 'im your fake ID or whatever?"

Her blue eyes widened a bit and she broke out into a fit of laughter. Daryl's eyes narrowed in contrast and he felt his blood run a little hotter.

"What's so funny," he asked darkly.

He looked at the blonde as she got her laughter under control and she fanned her face. "You think I have a fake ID?" She grinned again, looking like she was gonna start laughing all over again. Daryl shifted uncomfortably. "I'm the only seventeen year old in all of Georgia that still gets handed a kid's menu if we eat out of town! You think that the locals, in this small town where everyone knows everyone, would let me go into some place with a fake ID? Even if they did, you thought this face could pass as twenty one?"

While she was trying to swallow more laughter, he ran his hands through his hair and sighed. Why was he letting this girl rile him up? Why wasn't he kicking her out of his truck?

"Yeah, well, why were you there then?"

Beth shrugged, like the answer should have been obvious. "It was karaoke night."

"Hmph, right," he scoffed. "Karaoke. Shoulda known…" He made sure his tone held the bitter sarcasm he intended it to have, and then he was getting out of the truck and throwing away the baling twine.

"Thanks for the ride Daryl, 'ppreciate it!"

He only felt a little guilty when he didn't acknowledge her thanks or say anything in return. When he heard her footsteps carry her farther away from him, he dared to look back in her direction again. She was a quarter of the way to the farmhouse, where her father was sitting in a rocker. It was hard to tell from this distance, but Daryl was pretty sure Hershel didn't have a shotgun with him. And even if he did have one, it wasn't pointed at Daryl. Yet.

Running his hand through his hair again, he decided to focus on his work. Je just had to do feed, water, and turnout. And muck. But the Greene's only had six horses, so he'd be done earlier than he first thought. Probably about an hour if he took his sweet time. And he did. Even the barn was nicer than the motel, and he wasn't eager to get back. With just him and the horses, it was peaceful. Once he made sure he knew which horses were going in which field, and after he located the feed room again he started scooping out their evening meals according to the feed chart.

Despite it being his first day working at this farm, he knew that this would be a great set up for him. Even with that girl around. A good place to live, outdoor work where he could be alone most of the day, and decent pay too. He let his mind wander as he fed the horses, and he thought of his brother. Not for the first time he wondered what Merle was up to. When Daryl woke up the morning after their "reunion" with their father, Merle had be gone. Left all his shit, but took almost all their secret stash of money. So Daryl pawned most of the stuff left behind by Merle and split town too. If Merle left, Daryl knew he should get out too. And if history was any indicator, the faster Merle took off, the faster Daryl should as well.

He sat down on the steps that led up to the loft apartment he hoped to inhabit soon resting his legs while he waited for the horses to eat. He stretched one leg out into the aisle and leaned his back against the wall of the stairwell, his other foot resting on the first step. Daryl let his eyelids drop, and he sighed. Not four seconds after he closed his eyes, that Beth girl came strolling along behind his eyelids. But it was okay this time. In his mind she was quiet and unless Hershel was a mind reader, it didn't matter what he was thinking about. The Beth in his mind was just sitting across from him, playing with some flowers like he had seen her do down by the stream earlier. For a moment she looked up at him, and he didn't mind looking back into her crystal-blue eyes. She turned her gaze back to the flowers, though, and started humming softly.

Here in his head, without her confusing him in person, he could try to figure out what it was about her that made him feel unbalanced. His eyes could linger on her now, now that the real Beth was at home in the farmhouse. Her skin was so much paler than his, like she hadn't tanned at all over the summer, or ever. Somehow it suited her. And damn, she was pretty. And young, he reminded himself. Was he ever that young? That naive about how the world worked? Obviously he had been her age, but he couldn't remember a time when he felt like she looked. She didn't seem to care if her dad would think the new farmhand was trying to weasel his way up her skirt or anything. The thought didn't even seem to cross her mind that he could tell. If that was because she was naive, or because Daryl didn't give off that kind of vibe, he wasn't sure. But he listened to the imaginary Beth continue humming, and he wondered again what it was about her that riled him up and made him wish his truck were cleaner. Whatever it was, he thought, is probably why he was imagining her smiling at him now.

One of the horses nickered and then he heard a stall door squeak. He also heard Beth's voice and his eyes shot open. That was enough to pull him out of his reverie. There she was, down the aisle whispering to a brown mare. He rubbed his eyes, trying to scrub away the imaginary Beth and wake himself up.

"Sorry, I'm not trying to stalk you, Mr. Dixon. Just saying hi to Nelly before dinner." She gave him a small smile and then turned back to her horse.

"Hmm" was all he said.

Dusting himself off, he picked up a lead rope and started taking the other horses out to their fields. When he was done, Beth was still with Nelly, so he just started on the rest of the stalls. Scoop, sift, dump, compost, repeat. At some point Beth had taken Nelly to her proper field, and so he cleaned out that stall as well.

Now the sun was just starting to set as he finished freshening their water buckets. He dipped into the barn's bathroom and stood in front of the mirror with his hands on the sink for a moment. He was getting old, he thought. "Gonna be too old, soon." Though he wasn't quite sure what he meant by that.

As Daryl headed back to his truck, he remembered Otis telling him to check in with Hershel when he finished up. So when he was standing apprehensively at the front door to the farmhouse, he was instantly relieved that Hershel came to the door instead of his daughter.

"Ah, Daryl! I see you survived your first day," Hershel said, his eyes crinkling at the corners.

Daryl nodded his head and held the screen door open for Hershel as he and his crutches made their way onto the porch.

"Thank you, son. Now, tell me about your day here."

Obediently, Daryl recounted the jobs he did and somehow felt bold or crazy enough to mention Beth helping with the hay.

His new boss smiled a bit at that, which also relieved Daryl as much as it surprised him. "Yes, that girl has a servant's heart, doesn't she?" Then Hershel began to explain how there was a fence that needed mending this week, along with other things that had to happen around the farm. "Now, I noticed that Otis left you alone this afternoon. He knows that I'm a stickler when it comes to the business, so he's never left any trainee alone on their first day. Ever," he emphasized. "I take that as a very good sign that you'll be a good fit here."

"Honey, dinner's ready!"

They both turned their heads towards the door where the female voice had come from, though Hershel's face perked up more excitedly than Daryl's. They said their goodbyes and then Daryl was alone again.

He lit a cigarette and was headed down the gravel drive and back to his shitty motel, radio blaring. When he noticed he was thinking of small, pale hands and flowers again, he didn't exactly push those images away. He let them linger as he drove. And even when he pulled into the motel, he didn't quite push them away. Daryl stood in the shower, looking into the imaginary Beth's eyes, and thought he was getting closer to understanding the source of his discomfort and attraction, if you could call it that.

She seemed... _good_. And he's met good people before, but he's never been close to a good person. He hadn't ever needed or wanted to be. Not that he exactly wanted to be close to her, not in an intimate way. He felt too old for that shit. But maybe if he could be...around her, his life might improve in some way. He had Merle and that was enough most days. But when Merle was gone, though Daryl hated to admit it, he was lonely. Even when Merle was around, they weren't affectionate. Sometimes he even hated Merle.

* * *

 **Hello new friends! I am so happy that some of you have followed and favorited my story! Each little email I get makes me smiiiiile. And when I see a review, I jump up and down and even my dog gets excited. So if you want to make me and a puppy dog happy (and IF you really really enjoyed it) consider leaving a review? Yay!**


	4. Chapter 4

**_HELLO. I AM SO SORRY FOR THE LONG DELAY. I thought I would try to write this chapter from Beth's POV for a slight change of pace and that turned out to be a lot harder than I expected it to be -_- So sorry. I was thinking of having this be mostly from Daryl's POV, but wanted to throw in a couple of Beth ones just so we could see from her teenager-y eyes and what not. Lemme know if you prefer one or the other in the reviews :) All of you that have taken the time to review, I THANK YOU. And each little review keeps my spirits high and makes me wanna write more!_**

 ** _Thanks for reading, and as you all already know, I own nothing of TWD or any of the songs mentioned in this fic._**

* * *

 _Oh no. No, no, no, no!_

Beth bolted upright in her bed at 6:15 in the morning with her stomach sinking like a rock. She had been sleeping blissfully until she got a text from her friend.

 _[ Are you ready for the chem test? ]_

With a groan she fell back to her pillows, phone in hand. She had worked on all her homework during last period just so she could spend more time with Nelly. And yes, if she was being honest with herself she definitely wanted to scope out the guy she rescued at Cheers 2 a few nights ago.

 _[ No! Who plans a test for a Tuesday anyways? ]_

If she hadn't been so distracted with Mr. Dixon then she _might_ have remembered the test and she _might_ have remembered to get her backpack out of the bed of his truck! Maybe. She bit her lip and sent another text before Zach could respond.

 _[ I think I might skip. ]_

Beth swung her legs out of bed and did a halfhearted stretch before mustering the strength to get out of bed. If she was gonna skip school she had to at least convince her parents that everything was normal. She felt bad lying to them, but she justified it because she was still a teenager and this is what teenagers did. Right? She slipped on an old pair of slippers and padded down the stairs towards the kitchen. Quiet humming was coming from beyond its doorway, and she knew it was her mom.

 _Oh darn._

It wasn't exactly that she thought her parents wouldn't be up, because they always got up by six. She had just really, really hoped. But she walked into the kitchen anyways and smiled softly at her mom's morning greeting. She opted not to engage in conversation though, because if she was really going to skip class, she had to be tactical about this. Beth knew her face had a tendency to give anything and everything away, so she occupied herself by pouring some cereal and chowing down at the table by the window.

"In case you forgot, your dad has an appointment this morning with the specialist in Atlanta."

Her heart started beating faster, this was good news!

"He's already rearing to go, that crazy old man."

She laughed then, partly because of the instant relief she was feeling, and partly because she knew her daddy. He always scheduled his appointments with the specialist first thing in the morning. Not to get it out of the way, but because his favorite breakfast buffet was in Atlanta. Hershel Greene was in many ways a calm man, but he was crazy about this breakfast place. He had to get there before they ran out of their homemade sausage, hence why they were leaving for Atlanta at such an early hour.

"Is he waiting in the truck already," she asked between bites of frosted flakes.

Her mom poured some coffee in a thermos and laughed, "what do you think?" She shook her head briefly and stopped to kiss Beth's head on her way out the backdoor. "Have a good day at school, hun!"

Beth smiled and waved, feeling just a bit guilty for her deception. She reminded herself that she was a teenager and had to live a little though.

Gulping down the rest of her cereal, she hurried to get upstairs. She wasn't exactly sure why she was in a rush, it wasn't like she had a bus to catch. But Beth stepped into the shower to rinse off the night and shave her legs, not bothering to wash her hair. Afterwards she found a comfortable pair of shorts and an old t-shirt and paused to look at herself in her bedroom mirror. Her outfit was very casual and practical, but it flattered her well and she felt good in it. Her hair, on the other hand, was a wet, tangly mess. She ran her comb through it until it was smooth and tied it back into a ponytail. That would do. A quick stop into the bathroom again to brush her teeth, and she was back downstairs putting on her socks and an old pair of sneakers.

A knock at the front door made her pause again. Who would be knocking on their door at seven in the morning? As stealthily as she could manage in a farmhouse with old, creaking floors, she tiptoed to the kitchen and looked out the window there.

Lo and behold, it was Daryl Dixon. She wondered what he wanted, but opted not to answer the door. Probably best if no one, not even the mysterious, brooding new farmhand, knew she was still home. So she contented herself to watch him as he stood waiting on the porch a minute longer. Only half of his body was visible from her angle, and that half looked tired. His hair was longer than she tended to like on guys, and he had bags under his eyes. He was probably old enough to be a father to her. And yet, as she watched him turn and walk down the stairs towards his truck, she thought she may have developed a bit of a crush on the guy.

"Ugh, you are sucha stereotype, Beth," she scolded to herself.

Rolling her eyes, she headed to the front door. Her foot tapped absentmindedly while she waited for Daryl to disappear from her sight. He was probably going to make an early morning cow check run. That gave her plenty of time to go hide in the loft apartment. She kept an old guitar and some books in the closet there for just such occasions. It wasn't that she skipped school often, but sometimes she just needed to be alone and out of the house.

Beth pulled the front door open, and began to push the screen door open as well when she felt it snag on something. That something was her backpack, and she realized that that must have been why Daryl was at the door. Her lips curved in a small, satisfied smile and she picked up the backpack and threw it over her shoulder. Then she was off, dashing across the yard and towards the barn like Flash Gordon, albeit a little bit slower.

She stopped running when she got into the barn and caught her breath while she walked towards the stairs that led to the loft. They didn't keep the door to the apartment locked, they hardly even locked the door on their own house, and so getting into the apartment was nice and simple. Beth let out a sigh when she stepped into the little apartment and relaxed. Now she could just hang out here and study.

She picked a cozy chair near the window, one of the few pieces of furniture in the place and the window was the biggest source of light since she didn't want to turn on any lights and draw attention to herself. It wasn't long before she was leafing through her chemistry book. The test was covering four chapters and as she reviewed them she realized that she probably would've done alright on the test. Still, the math-related questions were proving to be difficult. And Miss Buckley was not one of those teachers who would give you partial credit if you showed your work. Which just seemed mean to Beth.

Time slipped by and she heard her parents get back from the appointment in Atlanta. She had contemplated taking her car to school and saying that she had missed the bus this morning, but now that option was out. They'd remember seeing her car when they got home and they'd know she had skipped her morning classes.

At this point she had done all the studying she could possibly do, and all the homework she expected to need done tonight. Rain had started to drizzle awhile ago and the quiet sound was making her sleepy. She decided to take a break and pulled out her guitar from the closet. A familiar tune popped into her head and she plucked the strings to the song's bubbly melody. The lyrics evaded her memory, because it was an old song and she had never really learned the lyrics, but she sang the one line she could remember.

"And in another life by the river, we'd be happy, you'd be free…hm hmm hm hm hm hmm hm…."

Pursing her lips she chose another song, one that she actually knew the words to, and played that one instead. It was by the Beatles originally, but she preferred how Jim Sturgess sang it in Across the Universe. She must've made Maggie watch that movie with her a hundred times last year.

"You're askin' me will my love grow?

I don't know, I don't know.

You stick around, now it may show.

I don't know, I don't know.

Something in the way she knows,

And all I have to do is think of her.

Something in the things she shows me.

I don't wanna leave her now…"

She let the song end a bit early and started strumming another song while she watched the rain that began pouring. Outside the window the farm looked gray and faded from the mist the rain made when it hit the leaves of the trees and the ground. It looked beautiful in a haunting sort of way, like maybe nobody lived on the farm anymore, and nature was taking over. Her hands stilled on the guitar and she leaned back into the chair. Maybe she could close her eyes for just a little while.

For a moment she thought she heard the sound of nearby thunder, but her eyes flew open as she realized it was someone coming up the steps.

"Oh shoot!"

There was nowhere for her to go before the door to the apartment opened. But for the second time today, it was just Daryl Dixon at the door. And judging by his expression, he was more surprised to see her than she was to see him. She couldn't have asked for a better person to walk in on her than Daryl though. He didn't think he was the tattle-tale type. Or the talking type. Or any other stereotypical type she could think of that would get her in trouble.

"Howdy," she said, regretting how silly she sounded immediately.

Still standing at the door, Daryl looked back at her, his face unreadable but his eyes still showing a bit of surprise. They had seemed to switch places after their meeting at the bar. She felt nervous around him, like one would expect to be nervous around someone you like, but overall she felt at ease around him in a way she hadn't expected to feel. It was strange. And in the bathroom at Cheers 2 and outside in the parking lot, he had been the one to exude confidence and an "I don't care about nothin'" attitude. But since she saw him on the farm, it was like he was the awkward one.

As if to prove her point he started to turn back around without even saying hi.

"Thanks for delivering my backpack."

He hesitated, half way turned from her.

"Wasn't nothin'."

"Of course it was," she said, her tone light but trying to impress that she was grateful. "I actually had a test today, but I forgot to study, so I'm hiding out up here." Beth didn't ask what he was doing up here, but she didn't think he was planning anything malicious. Besides, they kept the place unlocked, so maybe he just wanted to take a second look at the place he might be moving into. She also knew she wanted to talk to him awhile longer. She liked his eyes.

His blue eyes wouldn't look at hers yet, but they did pay attention to the guitar in her lap.

"A music test?"

She held back a smile at his dubious expression.

"No, that was just for taking a break." Beth paused, looking down at her guitar. "Do you play?"

Looking just a bit more at ease, Daryl turned his body back to face her and leaned against the doorframe. "Never had the money of the time to learn. I just listen."

She nodded, and it was like all the conversation topics that had been in her head just disappeared. _Great, just when I got him speaking in longer sentences._ Despite the silence though, and to her amazement, Daryl was still standing at the door. It looked like he might say something, so she busied herself by putting her books back into her bag while she waited for him to speak. He obviously wasn't a social star and seemed uncomfortable when there was any attention on him, so she thought it might help him if she wasn't staring at him while he was forming sentences in his brain.

Her books went back into her backpack one at a time. She was trying to be as slow as molasses in the winter without being super obvious about going that slow. He probably knew though, she could feel his eyes on her the entire time. What could be so hard to say?

"What time is your test?"

Beth drew her eyebrows together quizzically and tilted her head.

"Said you have a test."

"It's at 1:30, why?"

He thrust his hands into his pockets and looked at her bag rather than her.

"School's important. Shouldn't skip important stuff like school."

"Are you...offering to take me to school?"

He looked a bit like a highschool boy, she thought, shifting his weight and having difficulty maintaining eye contact with her.

"You wanna take the damn test or not?"

Beth smiled more widely at his gesture and his awkwardness.

"You'd have to sneak me outta here cause I'm sure my parents are home by now. Does the Dixon Taxi offer discreet passenger services?"

"Guess it does now. S'long as your daddy doesn't shoot me if he finds out."

She slung her backpack over her shoulder, "nah, he probably won't." _Probably._

Daryl pulled his hands from his pocket and glanced at his watch before heading down the stairs, signalling for her to follow. Beth took quick steps across the apartment to catch up with him.

"I'll pull around, be ready."

She shut the door and ran down the stairs, stopping briefly to pet one of the barn cats. This was definitely a change in plans. She knew her parents would not approve. It was one thing to get in his truck while they were on the farm, but they still didn't really know about this guy… _No, he's not like that_.

Not that she had any more time to debate it, since his old blue truck pulled up to the back of the barn. Slipping inside of it quickly so she could stay dry, she noticed that the seat was cleared and so was the floor. Without thinking she squeezed herself in the space available on the floor as fast as she could.

Daryl's response was quick and incredulous. "What in the hell are you doing?"

"Geeze Daryl! Discreet! Don't look at me, if my parents see they might get suspicious."

She rolled her eyes at him and hoped that maybe he'd laugh but his mouth just pressed together into a thin line and his foot hit on the gas pedal a little more firmly. _Awkward_. But he came to a stop at the end of the driveway and she took the opportunity to sit in the passenger seat like an actual passenger instead of a stowaway.

He looked at her expectantly, and she looked back, not knowing what he wanted from her.

"Where to?"

"Uh, the school?" And that is when she remembered he was new in town and had no idea where the school was. "Oh, right, um, just turn right and head into town. It's real easy to find."

Today there was no music playing in his truck, but the rain was still pouring and made music all its own that helped to alleviate the silence between the two of them. Beth stole glances at him when she thought he wasn't paying attention. He was wearing a red plaid flannel over a black t-shirt, and he still had bits of hay sticking to the flannel. He must've been out in the rain before finding her in the loft, because his shirt looked damp and his hair was wet. Daryl definitely looked like he was used to having hay stick to him and working hard though, and she liked that. Most people in town were used to hard work, of all sorts and not just farming, but you could always tell when a city-slicker was stopping by on their way into Atlanta. At that thought, her favorite Brad Paisley song popped into her head and she turned her head towards the window to stifle a laugh.

Then her stomach let out a low grumble, followed by two more shortly after. _Shut up stomach. I don't need to hear from you right now!_ She hated when her stomach decided to talk in the middle of a silent room. Or in this case a truck with a brooding farmhand she was crushing on.

"Turn left at the next stoplight."

Daryl grunted but turned right instead.

"I meant the other left, but that's okay, you can make a uturn any time."

"This is my lunch break, stopping by Burger King. You hungry?"

* * *

 **"Something" as sung by Jim Sturgess in Across the Universe (fantastic soundtrack, trippy movie, go watch it if you can!)**

 **"I'm Still A Guy" by Brad Paisley (just mentioned this in the fic, if you don't know the song, its funny)**


End file.
